On David Bowie's passing
Ever since the news broke that David Bowie died of cancer, I've seen countless heartfelt tribunes. He touched so many people in a deeply personal way. Reading it all, it's hard not to feel moved.
I'm not one of those people. I live his music, and I enjoyed his performance in the Labyrinth, but he didn't mean nearly as much to me as he did to so many people.
But, as I thought about it, I realized that, in a way, his music did have a personal connection to me. In a sort of sideways way.
If tweelore's life was a movie, Bowie would've been all over the soundtrack. Back when I first got to know her, he was one of the artists she used to play in the car. I don't drive, but she did, and so Bowie was in the background of more conversations than I can even begin to count. Some casual, some lighthearted, some pretty damn serious. And when she found out that I barely knew anything about David Bowie, she made a point to educate me. And, you know, show me the Labyrinth.
Art can have the power to move people. It can have the power to fundamentally affect their worldview, their understanding of self. Even if I never quite got into Bowie the way Lore did, I got to see that power first-hand. A few hours ago, I went back to look at the video of her singing "Space Oddity," and I was struck by her sheer, unabashed joy. All because of a song.
Like I said, it's hard not to moved by that.
When I first heard the news... Once I got past the initial surprise, my reaction was "чёрт, Lore is going to be devastated." Followed by "wait, he had cancer?" Followed by "oh, fuck cancer."
The word seems to be that Bowie died of liver cancer, which is way more likely to be fatal, and way harder to combat than Hodgekins Lymphoma. It doesn't even feel right to put our respective cancers int eh same sentence.
But at the same time, it's still hard not to feel empathy. Empathy and anger, at the disease that took so many lives and burdened so many more.
I can't begin to fully understand how profoundly Bowie's death affected his fans. It requires something I don't really have.
But it's interesting how, in its own, sideways way, his death would up affecting me anyway.
I guess, when you make an impact, even the waves can have aftershocks.
I'm not one of those people. I live his music, and I enjoyed his performance in the Labyrinth, but he didn't mean nearly as much to me as he did to so many people.
But, as I thought about it, I realized that, in a way, his music did have a personal connection to me. In a sort of sideways way.
If tweelore's life was a movie, Bowie would've been all over the soundtrack. Back when I first got to know her, he was one of the artists she used to play in the car. I don't drive, but she did, and so Bowie was in the background of more conversations than I can even begin to count. Some casual, some lighthearted, some pretty damn serious. And when she found out that I barely knew anything about David Bowie, she made a point to educate me. And, you know, show me the Labyrinth.
Art can have the power to move people. It can have the power to fundamentally affect their worldview, their understanding of self. Even if I never quite got into Bowie the way Lore did, I got to see that power first-hand. A few hours ago, I went back to look at the video of her singing "Space Oddity," and I was struck by her sheer, unabashed joy. All because of a song.
Like I said, it's hard not to moved by that.
When I first heard the news... Once I got past the initial surprise, my reaction was "чёрт, Lore is going to be devastated." Followed by "wait, he had cancer?" Followed by "oh, fuck cancer."
The word seems to be that Bowie died of liver cancer, which is way more likely to be fatal, and way harder to combat than Hodgekins Lymphoma. It doesn't even feel right to put our respective cancers int eh same sentence.
But at the same time, it's still hard not to feel empathy. Empathy and anger, at the disease that took so many lives and burdened so many more.
I can't begin to fully understand how profoundly Bowie's death affected his fans. It requires something I don't really have.
But it's interesting how, in its own, sideways way, his death would up affecting me anyway.
I guess, when you make an impact, even the waves can have aftershocks.